Last
week I was in a strange location (for me), downtown Naples FL. Fifth
street is the main drag. It runs more or less east to west, and this
was about 11AM. The sun was nearly overhead, and buildings cast
minimal shadows on either side of the street.

So,
I looked for some kind of awning. And here it was, with three stores
sharing this covered walkway.

This
looked Good! Notice the light on the floor tiles. Between columns,
the tiles are brightest on our left, with light fall off to the
right. And with light hitting the tiles on an angle, I could be sure
that it would be reflected up to the ceiling, to the glass on the
right, and basically everywhere. With this situation, there is almost
always diffused light coming from all directions. The only minor
problem here are the stark white window and door frames. Well,
nothing is perfect.

So
I used the philosophy, "build the stage and the players will
come". I planned to photograph in the same direction as this
image. And I waited for a vict.., er.., stranger to come along. A
young lady approached, but I was concerned that she might be TOO
young. The 100 Strangers flickr group has a rule: no photographing
children without an adult in the frame – I think it's a good rule.
The definition of a child is nebulous, but I think of high school
seniors as adults, and try to avoid younger folks. So, I let this
young lady pass.

But
a minute later, Kelley came along. I didn't ask how to spell her
name, I assume that it has two "e"s. She was visiting from
Michigan and was a bit hesitant at first, but then she relented and
"got into it". And the young lady returned, she was
Kelley's daughter, Octavia (named after the sister of Augustus, the
Roman emperor). She had absolutely no reservations about being
photographed. Octavia is a high school student, although I don't know
what year.

Now
looking at these portraits, you can see the flow of light from our
left to right. The light is diffused in that there no harsh shadows.
I am disappointed in the white bar next to Octavia. Darkening in post
processing helps, but I still don't like it.

Photographing
outdoors, under cover, usually gives pleasing results with respect to
light. All the more so if there is one wall to reflect light. If the
quantity is low, I would turn the subject towards the most light to
get catchlights. This situation is not unlike photographing someone
inside of an open garage door.

Thank
you Kelley and Octavia, for coming along at the right time. You have
my MOO card, so please e-mail me after the images appear on flickr.